A fee of $95 for government and non-profit attendees, and $150 for private sector attendees, is required, and may be paid online (secure server) at http://www.nationalcorridors.org/conf/, faxed, or mailed by check. The National Corridors Initiative, a private 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation which advocates for investment in transportation infrastructure as an economic development and environmental tool, is organizing this October 11 event.

The conference will begin at 7:45 a.m. in the Press Room of the Omni Parker House Hotel, Tremont and School streets, Boston, with luncheon in the Alcott Ballroom and surrounding rooms, and concludes with a reception from 5-6:30 p.m.

The May 2006 flood. Looking upriver at the railroad bridge over the Merrimack River in Haverhill from the Bradford side. Water is quite high and moving fast. Fortunately the wall that was built after the 1936 flood held and kept the downtown section from becoming flooded. Here an MBTA train crosses slowly. Amtrak Downeaster trains also use this bridge.

Train speeds over the deteriorating bridge had already been reduced, but last August they were reduced again, down to 5 mph. In addition, officials ordered that only one train at a time could cross the bridge.

Work began almost immediately to replace the 75 wooden ties that were in the worst condition. A spokesman for the MBTA, Joseph Pesaturo, said, Its going to be a major project.....but we are confident we will be able to keep one side of the bridge open at a time while we repair the other. That way, we can keep one track open at all times and not impact service.

But that was last August. Ten days ago, MBTA announced they were considering canceling two morning commuter trains that stopped on the Haverhill side, a rescheduling that could be in place for two or more years. The proposal was to cancel the trains that leave at 6:55 and 7:25 AM.

Within days, the decision was reversed. When the story came out in Sundays Eagle-Tribune last week, the MBTA was besieged by phone calls from local and state officials opposed to eliminating the two morning trains.

We received many calls and e-mails from upset riders, said Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini. This would have been terrible for the city. We asked the MBTA to please not do it, and they agreed. We are very happy about how it ended.

The loss of the morning trains also would have had an adverse impact on the citys campaign to promote hundreds of new apartments and condominiums around the downtown station as desirable places to live for young professionals who would ride the train to jobs in Boston, Fiorentini said. A prospective downtown housing developer called the mayor to express concern about losing the two morning trains.

The change would have affected hundreds of commuters who live near the downtown station. They would have had to catch their train on the other side of the Merrimack River at the Bradford station 1500 feet away. Riders who drive to the station have free parking on the Haverhill side but would have to pay $2 on the Bradford side.

It already costs $14.50 to take the train from Haverhill to Boston, said resident Daniel Spurling, who rides the downtown train every day to his job as a law clerk at a Boston courthouse. I was not happy at the thought of having to pay another $2 a day to park at the Bradford station.

Upon hearing the news that his train would not be canceled, Spurling said, I never in a million years thought theyd keep the trains after they told us they were going to get rid of them. This is great news.

Many commuters and officials were afraid the scheduling change would have been permanent. David Evancha of Haverhill, when he heard the proposal, said, Once the trains are canceled, they will never be brought back. This stop will just go away.

But Pesaturo has reassured everyone. Were keeping all the downtown trains, and we wont revisit it, he said.

The MBTA has $8.4 to million to repair the span. They are advertising for an engineering firm to develop the restoration plan. No timetable has been set for the repairs but the authority hopes to begin within two years.

A T spokesman told DF staff last Friday that the entire timber deck will be replaced in the spring of 2008.

Besides the commuter trains, freight trains and the Amtrak Downeaster use the bridge to cross the Merrimack on a daily basis.

While you may be taking measures such as making your house more energy efficient, the biggest impact in reducing ones personal quotient of carbon dioxide pollution is to switch from cars to public transit, according to a groundbreaking new study recently released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

The researchers found that that public transportation in the United States saves approximately 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline and about 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

This means, they conclude, that using public transit compared to other household actions can be more than ten times more effective in reducing this greenhouse gas. Even if we use a green car, driving has a significant impact on climate change. Transportation accounts for more than 30 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

The APTA study took on four big questions:

How much CO2 is public transportation currently saving in the US?

How much additional CO2 savings are possible if public-transit use increases?

Whats the carbon impact of a household whose members drive to work instead of using public transit, and how can households reduce that impact? And

Does public transit lead to better land use (and thus environmental and social benefits)?

In 2005, the report stated that public-transit use reduced CO2 emissions in the United States by 6.9 million metric tons--the net difference between the emissions produced by transit and the emissions prevented by reducing congestion and taking cars off the road. A single individual with a 20-mile commute could reduce her personal carbon production by more than 20 pounds a day simply by switching to public transit. And although its hard to precisely measure the land-use impacts of increased transit use, various studies have estimated that the number of vehicle miles traveled goes down between 1.4 and 9 miles for every passenger-mile traveled on transit.

The impact is greater than any other measure an individual could do, the study concluded. Making ones home more energy efficient and lowering the thermostat can save about 2800 pounds a year while using public transit, assuming a 240-day work week, eliminates more than 4800 pounds of CO2 a year.

The study also concluded that public transportation can save a family on average $6,200 annually, which is more than most households spend on food.

Transit has to be available to people for this to work, and gradually things are improving in that direction. According to the latest available numbers, the number of miles transit vehicles spent in revenue-generating service went up 31 percent between 1996 and 2005. Light rail built during that period increased 85 percent and vanpools increased three-fold. Nationwide, buses make up more than half of all transit systems, but light, heavy and commuter rail systems continue to grow.

Still, much needs to be done to increase transit availability: only 14 million Americans use public transportation daily while 88 percent of all trips in the United States are made by carand many of those cars carry only one person.

According to Treehugger.com, if just one in 10 Americans used public transportation daily, U.S. reliance on foreign oil would decrease 40 percent.

A summit fee of $100 includes seated lunch and theatre floor seating for the first 300 registrants. A late registration fee of $50 applies after October 15.

About WTS

Founded in 1977, WTS is an international organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women in transportation. Boasting more than 4,000 members - both men and women - WTS is helping women find opportunity and recognition in the transportation industry. Through its professional activities, networking opportunities, and unparalleled access to industry and government leaders, WTS is turning the glass ceiling into a career portal. Additional information on the international organization is available at http://www.wtsinternational.org/.

Portland, Oregon is leading the way in building and operating streetcars. The Portland Streetcar line runs ten miles through downtown Portland. Over thirty cities have built streetcar lines recently or are planning to do so by 2010. Even after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina at least two of New Orleans streetcar lines are working again. Many cities are taking the streetcar revolution so seriously that a company is now building vintage streetcars. If one wants to buy so-called Authentic Trolley Cars, they are available from GOMACO, which is located in Iowa.

The last modern streetcar was built in the United States in 1952 for San Francisco. There is now no American manufacturer, although Oregon Iron Works plans to start building streetcars to a Czech design.

The biggest problem is the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). FTA has an inherent bias against streetcars. Indeed cities that want streetcars, both Heritage streetcar systems and modern systems, find that they simply cannot obtain FTA funding. Approximately 30 cities have shown interest in streetcars. The FTA answer is always no.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK) created the Small Starts program in 2006 under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. The primary focus of Small Starts was to assist cities that wanted to build streetcar lines with less than $75 million from the Federal Government. Cities that applied found that they were told that they had to initiate bus rapid transit programs. What a typical response from the bureaucracy.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently predicted a remarkable number of light rail and streetcar systems would operate within the next thirty years. A colleague of mine from an organization known as the Streetcar Coalition stated that regardless of who wins the next Presidential election, rail will be on the agenda. Whether we speak of light rail, which is used to relieve traffic congestion (and is often interurban), or streetcars, which simply circulate around a city, rail is necessary unless people are willing to spend days in their cars.

Destination: Freedom is partially funded by the Surdna Foundation, and other contributors.

Photo submissions are welcome. NCI is always interested in images that demonstrate the positive aspects of rail, transit, and intermodalism, as well as of current newsworthy events associated with our mission. Please contact the webmasterin advance of sending images so we can recommend attachment by e-mail or grant direct file transfer protocols (FTP) access depending on size and number. Descriptive text which includes location, train name, and something about the content of the image is encouraged. We will credit the photographer and offer a return link to your e-mail address or web site.

Journalists and others who wish to receive high quality NCI-originated images by Leo King and other photo journalists should contact our webmaster@nationalcorridors.org for additional information.

In an effort to expand the on-line experience at the National Corridors Initiative web site, we have added a page featuring links to other transportation initiative sites. We hope to provide links to those cities or states that are working on rail transportation initiatives  state DOTs, legislators, governors offices, and transportation professionals  as well as some links for travelers, enthusiasts, and hobbyists. If you have a favorite link, please send the uniform resource locator address (URL) our webmaster@nationalcorridors.org.